So, in addition to death and taxes, another certainty in life is that my home mixes usually lack in the 12-15K+ range, as evidenced by a spectrum analyzer (for example, I usually have a hard time getting on the pesky 3db guide line on Ozone).
 
My room, well, is my room (12' x 11'), but most of my stuff is happening ITB.  Which method would best accomplish this feat?
 
EQ boost?  Harmonic exciter?  On certain tracks vs. master bus?  Done during mastering instead?  Thanks for any input! =)
 

Well, you could put a low shelf below 12K and turn the volume up :)

Thanks sharke.  I just wish I knew what that meant and how to accomplish it...  :-/
 
Any chance you could elaborate???

it means that rather than boosting the high end, cut the low end evenly up to around 12 kHz.
 
The equivalent is a boost above 12 kHz.

Thanks gswitz.  On the entire mix (i.e. master bus)?  Or just individual tracks?  Thanks.

Would hit 'Gloss' button on ProChannel EQ, it's designed for that (just wished it was a knob, not a button)
(adds around 1.5db)
 
Or/and enable ProChannel N-type Console Emulator (Tolerance ON).
Just by enabling it, without dialing drive/trim gives you sheen (plus 1.5 db too)
 
good luck

If a 3-6dB boost (at most) doesn't give you the sheen you want to hear (NOT whatever you see on the analyzer - ignore that silly thing) then your recording or sample is no good. Simple as that. You might then resort to a little suble excitation to cheat, but its not the real thing and gets harsh very easily.

Remember that not everything needs that sheen. Cymbals, high percussion, acoustic, airy vox might benefit, but only used appropriately. Are you actually aware what 12-15khz sounds like? There is not a lot there. High pass a pro song and listen to the range. You'll be surprised. Compare with your mixes.

Only condenser mics will give you this. A dynamic wont work.

The tools should be used to assist in getting you to the end result but you can't try to machine a block of alumini into steel no matter what you do. If it ain't there, it just ain't there.

I'm still just learning like you, but for the entire mix I would try a High pass filter and cutting the mids before I did a boost in the highs. If you still feel you need to boost the highs by more than 1.5 to 2 dbs I would go back to the mix and try to fix the real problem. It's good advice that I need to follow myself!

I would pick out the tracks you want "sheen" on.  It will make them stand out as long as there is something up there for lp to work on.  On the entire mix I'd be wary of dipping so high up - you might be better off boosting a little w/ a gentle curve starting about 10 kHz.
 
The gloss button adds a little presence at abou 1000 Hz.  Brandon I think finally gave that info up when everyone was beating up on him.  Much farther down than "air", which is most often what is being called "sheen" in this thread.
 
@

mattplaysguitar
If a 3-6dB boost (at most) doesn't give you the sheen you want to hear (NOT whatever you see on the analyzer - ignore that silly thing) then your recording or sample is no good. Simple as that. You might then resort to a little suble excitation to cheat, but its not the real thing and gets harsh very easily.

Remember that not everything needs that sheen. Cymbals, high percussion, acoustic, airy vox might benefit, but only used appropriately. Are you actually aware what 12-15khz sounds like? There is not a lot there. High pass a pro song and listen to the range. You'll be surprised. Compare with your mixes.

Only condenser mics will give you this. A dynamic wont work.

The tools should be used to assist in getting you to the end result but you can't try to machine a block of alumini into steel no matter what you do. If it ain't there, it just ain't there.

Hi caminitic . . . . mattplaysguitar's post above has provided a great answer to your question, if I may humbly try to add anything else to it.
 
Especially true in pop music with drums . . . there's only a small bit of audio up there in that range, trying to re-manufacture 12-15K at mastering stage can really wreck a mix, so must be very subtle. It would be best to have those frequencies already naturally existing in your tracks, if possible.
 
Your listening room is a huge factor, always test you final mixes in as many listening environments as possible, from headphones to car stereo.
 
I have some mixes from many years ago, where we thought it was wise to add some harmonic exciter, now I don't like to listen to them because
a little became too much, and no one wants to turn down the treble every time your song comes on.  There is a definite listening fatigue when a recording has a top end / bottom end imbalance.
 
The scientific "spectrum analyzer" version of your recordings will sound best to robots, if that is your target audience.